Vehicle.



PATENTED JAN; 29, 1907.

G. E. MURRELL.

VEHICLE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 21.11306.

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No. 842,804. PATENTED JAN. 29, 1907.

G. E. MURRELL,

VEHICLE. APPLICATION nun APR.21.1906. 2 sums-sum 2.

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VEHICLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 29, 1907.

Application filed April 21. 1906. Serial No. 313,050.

To all Ill/0071b it m/coy concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE EDWARD MURRELL, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Fontella, in the county ofBedford and State ofVirginia, have invented a new and useful Vehicle, of which the followingis a specification.

The present invention relates to vehicle construction, and relates moreparticularly to mechanisms for changing the position of one or bothwheels with respect to the vehicle-body, so that the latter can bemaintained level while traveling on a hillside with the same facility aswhen traveling on a level road.

The object of the invention is to provide an improved mechanism of thecharacter described which is of simple and substantial construction andcapable of being readily operated from the vehicle-body at all times.

The details of the construction and arrangements of parts will be morefully described hereinafter, while the features of novelty will be setforth with particularity in the claims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate one embodiment of theinvention, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the vehicle. Fig. 2 is a planview thereof. Fig. 3 is an end view. Fig. 4 is a detail perspective viewof the wheel-elevating mechanism, and Fig. 5 is a detail view of a partof said mechanism.

Referring to the drawings, 1 presents the vehicle-body having a suitabledraft arrangement and mounted upon a shaft 2. In thepresent'illustration a two-wheeled vehicle is shown, and the body ismounted upon the shaft in mid-position. The shaft 2 is a round bar andof the double-crank construction, having the crank-arms arranged onehundred and eighty degrees apart, so that when the vehicle is travelingon the level one crankarm extends rearwardly and the other forwardly,Fig. 2. These crank-arms 3 terminate in axles 1, upon which theroad-wheels 5 are mounted so as to freely rotate thereon. The shaft 3 isnormally stationary, but is mounted at its ends in journals or bearings6, Fig. 3, so that the same can be turned for elevating or lowering thewheel or wheels.

The mechanism for setting the wheels comprises a lever 7, which isattached to the lower crank-arm, Fig. 2, by means of a bracket 8, andarranged on the vehicle-body at one side of the lever is a toothedsector or rack 9, with which the latch 10 on the lever interlocks forholding the crank-arms from turning after the wheels have been set toany desired position. The bracket 8, as shown in Fig. 5, comprises acasting having a semicylindrical recess 11, adapted to receive thecrank-arm, and an annular recess 12 for receiving the lower ends of theactuating-lever, Fig. 5, the latter recess being disposed at rightangles to the former. The bracket is secured to the crank-arm by meansof clips 13 and to the lever by bolts 14.

The operation is as follows: vWhen it is desired to travel over a levelstretchof ground or road, the lever is set to mid-position, as shown inFig. 1, which corresponds to the horizontal position of the crank-arm.When an incline, such as a hillside, is encountered which slopes to theleft, as shown in Fig. 3, the lever is thrown forwardly, so as to lowerthe righthand road-wheel and raise the lefthand one. When the wheelshave been shifted sufficiently to maintain the body of the vehiclesubstantially horizontal, the latch is released and the wheels aremaintained in their shifted position, and, conversely, when an oppositeincline 1s encountered the lever is disposed rearwardly.

While I have shown the crank-shaft of the double-throw construction, itis possible to employ certain features of the invention with a shafthaving a single-crank arm, and, furthermore, a four-wheeled vehicle maybe equipped with the invention and operate with the same effect.

Having thus described the invention, What is claimed as new is 1. Thecombination of a vehicle-body, with a crank-shaft on which the body isjournaled which is provided with crank-arms extending diametricallyopposite to each other, axles on the ends of the cranks, wheels on theaxles, an operating-lever, a bracket removably secured to one of thecrankarms, means for removably securing the lever to the bracket atright angles to the arm, a toothed sector on the body of the vehiclearranged adjacent to the lever, and a latch mechanism for locking thelever with respect to the sector.

2. The combination of a vehiclebody, with a transversely-extendingshaft, journals on the body for the shaft, a crank-arm at one end of theshaft, an axle thereon, road-wheels, a bracket on the crank-arm having arecess conforming to the shape of said arm and a second recessarranged'at an angle to the first-mentioned, a lever secured in thesecond recess, a latch mechanism on the lever, and a toothed sector forsaid mechanism mounted on the body and over Which the lever is adaptedto move.

3. The combination of a vehicle-body, with a transversely-extendingshaft, journals on the body for the shaft, crank-arms at the ends of theshaft, axles thereon, road-Wheels, a bracket on one of the crank-armshaving a recess into which the said arm fits and a second recessarranged at an angle to the first, a lever bolted in the second recess,clips 00- operating" With the first-mentioned recess for securing thebracket to the crank-arm, a latch mechanism on the lever, and a toothedsector for the said mechanism which is supported on the said body incooperative relation to the lever.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto aflixedmy signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

GEORGE EDWARD MURRELL.

Witnesses:

M. P. WILLIAMS, ANNIE R. THOMASSON.

